At first the father and mother would not hear of such a thing; but when
Herr Ekman told of the medical gymnastic exercises that might cure her
lameness, Josef spoke from his cot.

"Let her go," he said. "It is a terrible thing to be lame. These few days
that I have been helpless are the worst I have ever known. If there is a
chance to make Karen well, let her go."

And so Karen and Erik both went to Stockholm on the boat with Herr Ekman
and the twins.

"You know I told you that I never see my brothers very long at one time,"
Karen said to Gerda, after the children had been greeted and gladly
welcomed by Fru Ekman, and they had all tried to make the strangers feel
at home among them.

"Yes," said Gerda; "but when you next see Josef you may be so well and
strong that you can go off to the lumber camp with him and help him saw
down the trees."

Karen shook her head sadly. She could not believe that she would ever
walk without a crutch, and it was the first time that she had been away
from her mother in all her life. She turned to the window so that Gerda
might not see the tears that came into her eyes, and looked down at the
strange city sights.

Just then Lieutenant Ekman came into the room. "Oh, Father, may we take
Erik to the Djurgård to-morrow?" Birger asked. "I want to show him the
Lapp tent and the reindeer out there. He seems to be rather homesick for
the forest, and says that we live up in the air like the birds in their